16/07/2026
Many of you will remember Michael who joined us at St. Hugh’s for part of his Seminary training. Well done for inspiring the next generation, Michael, and being a witness of faith ✝️
Michael, a seminarian for our diocese, will tell you Lourdes changed the course of his life, and he can point to exactly what did it.
Not an argument. Not a book. Just people, serving and praying at the Shrine.
“You see so much faith in action here — the helpers caring for the assisted pilgrims, the processions, the Masses, the Rosaries at the Grotto. It has a huge impact on your discernment.” 🙏
That’s how a calling usually arrives, he thinks: not from nowhere, but from watching other people live it and wondering if you could too. It’s why he leads the Rosary for Vocations now, so the next young man has someone to watch.
And he already knows where he’s watching it lead. “I’d love to come back, hopefully as a priest, and celebrate Mass here at the Grotto, in the Underground Basilica, in the smaller chapels around the domain.”
You don’t have to be discerning priesthood to be part of that chain. Someone is always watching how you carry your faith — a child, a friend, a stranger in the next pew. Live it visibly this week, somewhere near you. You never know who’s deciding to follow Jesus because of your witness.
